U.S.

What Obama's Victory Means for Tech

Barack Obama has been elected for a second term as president of the United States. What does that mean for the technology community?

Internet Freedom

Obama believes the United States ought to preserve the “fundamental integrity of the Internet as an open and transparent system." He opposed the widely-despised anti-counterfeiting Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, on the grounds that it posed a risk to Internet freedom and online free speech. The White House later threatened to veto a controversial House-backed cybersecurity bill, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Information Act, or CISPA, on similar grounds.

Given Congress' inability to advance a bill on the subject, Obama is reportedly mulling an executive order on cybersecurity. That's an idea getting mixed reviews among computer security experts — many believe something needs to be done to better protect America from cyberattacks, but some doubt an executive order is the proper path.

Entrepreneur

Obama has hailed entrepreneurs and technologists as living "the promise of America," praising them for helping lead the country out of recession. His campaign had the backing of several notable technologists and entrepreneurs, including Craigslist's Craig Newmark and LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman. He signed the JOBS Act and the America Invents Act, both intended to help entrepreneurs, into law.

However, according to at least one study, most in the tech industry favored Mitt Romney, often saying his business experience would make him more responsive to their interests. Romney also made China, which is often accused by American entrepreneurs of copyright violation, a centerpiece of his campaign — a sign he may have been more tough on that country than Obama.

Innovation in Government

Obama's White House has made innovation in governance a high priority, a trend we expect to continue in the president's second term.

On Obama's first day in office, he created the role of White House Chief Technology Officer, a position currently filled by Todd Park. Data.gov, a public portal featuring a wealth of open government data, was created early in the Obama presidency. The Obama administration's use of We The People, a Change.org-style public petition platform, has earned mix reviews but deserves credit for moving the innovation-in-governance ball forward.

That piece has a good run-down of the specifics, but suffice to say 19 million Americans still lack access to hard-line broadband, particularly in rural communities. Progress has been made, but Obama's got a ways to go on this promise (Republicans, for their part, argued that public-private partnerships would be the key to filling the access gap).

STEM Education

Obama pushed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in his January state of the union address. His economic plan calls for training 100,000 new teachers in these fields over 10 years. and he announced in July a program designed to train 10,000 teachers as part of a STEM "master corps" that would bring their skills to schools across the country.

Space Policy

Obama's been guiding NASA into a new era of the agency — change that's bringing some dissent. He's been hit by Republicans for failing to have the space shuttle's replacement ready in time for that program's end, as American astronauts are now left depending on Russian help to reach the International Space Station.

Obama has also been criticized by some of NASA's finest, including the late Neil Armstrong, for putting faith in a public-private future for space travel — Obama's NASA will rely on private firms for short-range missions while finishing work on the shuttle's replacement. Despite the flack Obama's gotten from some space greats, the recent successes of private companies SpaceX and Red Bull shows he may have the right idea when it comes to the next era of spaceflight.

Do you think Obama's victory is a win for the technology community? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Mashable
is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.